The Indianapolis 500 went somewhat predictably for most of the race. The faster Chevrolets of Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing kept the top five spots for most of the day, edging out the Honda cars on speed. The big surprise was Juan Pablo Montoya coming back from 30th place to take the win.
The race went to a heated battle thanks in part to a late-race caution that bunched up the field. With less than thirty laps to go, Sebastian Saavedra, Jack Hawksworth and Stefano Coletti collided in a huge pile-up outside turn 4.
Hawksworth ran into the rear of Saavedra, and Coletti was collected by Saavedra’s spinning car.
Jack Hawksworth and Stefano Coletti have already been checked and released by medical staff. Saavedra was injured the worst of them all, as he was transported to the local hospital with a contusion to his right foot.
With 15 laps to go, the green flag dropped to finish out the race.
Will Power had taken out rear wing downforce in his last stop, allowing him to rocket past the rest of the field on the restart, but not for long. Scott Dixon quickly sped up to the front of the field to briefly take the lead from Power. Power answered back by regaining his position.
Montoya, too, caught up with the two in front, making his way in between Power and Dixon. This makes it an insane three-way battle. Then Charlie Kimball caught up to the top three, passing Dixon (who was now back behind Power, who had been passed by Montoya around the outside) at the back for third. This made it a crazy four-way battle to the end.
Ultimately, though, Juan Pablo Montoya maintained his lead over Power, Kimball and Dixon. Surprisingly, a Honda even made into the top 5, despite the general consensus that Chevrolet nailed this year’s aero package kit of upgrades far better than Honda did. It was Graham Rahal’s Team RLL Honda that rounded out the top 5.
Montoya had to restart from 30th place after getting by Simona de Silvestro under yellow at the beginning of the race. It is utterly insane that he not only worked his way back through the field to catch up, but took the win as well.
It’s one thing to start the Indianapolis 500 with a crash near the back of the field. It’s another…
This is Montoya’s second Indianapolis 500 win. It’s been 15 years since his last one, giving him longest span between Indianapolis 500 wins. Enjoy that delicious milk, JPM. You’ve clearly earned it more than anyone else there today.
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